Sending event messages to the system using JSON

[FatElvis 3]

Good Morning Everyone,

So I'm transitioning from Cinema Experience to CinemaVision. I really do like how slick the interface is and how quickly I can get it to integrate into Kodi. The sequence setup reminds me a lot of flow chart programming for controls, love that. So here's the difficulty I'm running into. I use EventGhost to interface with my USB I/O cards. It's pretty easy to adjust and proven to be extremely stable. It's also controlling my interface between Kodi and Netflix/Hulu so I want to maintain the EventGhost method. Is there an example of how to send a system message using JSON. I've seen the examples for direct control of things like the cd tray but nothing outlining notifications similar to the Cinema Experience. A quick post of a script example or a link to an example would be a big help.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[Ragnarok 198]

2 hours ago, FatElvis said:

Good Morning Everyone,

So I'm transitioning from Cinema Experience to CinemaVision. I really do like how slick the interface is and how quickly I can get it to integrate into Kodi. The sequence setup reminds me a lot of flow chart programming for controls, love that. So here's the difficulty I'm running into. I use EventGhost to interface with my USB I/O cards. It's pretty easy to adjust and proven to be extremely stable. It's also controlling my interface between Kodi and Netflix/Hulu so I want to maintain the EventGhost method. Is there an example of how to send a system message using JSON. I've seen the examples for direct control of things like the cd tray but nothing outlining notifications similar to the Cinema Experience. A quick post of a script example or a link to an example would be a big help.

Thanks for the help everyone!

So there are a few ways to do what you want. The old method used by Cinema Experience was that you wrote a Python script to make those changes. You can still use Python scripts if you want to take the time to develop and test them, but I'd bet you want an easier way. We can do that, too. 

Here's a great article about triggering actions via the Webserver Plugin for EventGhost. Once your triggers are in place, it's as simple as putting a web address in the action file, like this:

# This is an example of a simple GET: request and not very useful
http://google.com?q=frogs

Do keep in mind that CinemaVision can talk to and control any home automation solution that has a RESTful API, like Philips Hue for example. You may be able to control them directly without using EventGhost as a middle-man.

[FatElvis 3]

Thanks for the reply Ragnarok,

Unfortunately my home automation uses a FatElvis API. That is I have a USB digital/analogue I/O card hanging off the pc. It's seen as a serial device and I use Event ghost to push the command to the serial port. It also starts a timed loop that changes the color of the light every 8 minutes. It's a family Sci fi fantasy themed theater and I have a light saber on each side that fires up and I play the sound effect though the media PC when the movie experience starts. Then while it's running the sabers change color every 8 minutes but with out sound effects to keep them from going into there sleep mode. I also plan on including the platform lighting into the controls but that's for sometime next year.

I tried the Webserver quick but it was very angry and created a lot of red text on the log screen in Eventghost. Breaking stuff, it's what I do best . It just means I have to go and document the ports I'm using. It's been a very long time since I've had to mess with this setup so I have to relearn what exactly I did. I still haven't fully given up on JSON notifications. EventGhost sees the notifications from Kodi when it loads a new song to the play list and whats next so I know that connection is still good. I just need to figure out how to send that message.

Thanks again for the suggestions. Now I have an extra method to add to the list of stuff to try when the theater is not in use. I'll keep this updated as to my progress on getting the communications working.

[Ragnarok 198]

On 12/20/2015 at 8:33 AM, FatElvis said:

Thanks for the reply Ragnarok,

Unfortunately my home automation uses a FatElvis API. That is I have a USB digital/analogue I/O card hanging off the pc. It's seen as a serial device and I use Event ghost to push the command to the serial port. It also starts a timed loop that changes the color of the light every 8 minutes. It's a family Sci fi fantasy themed theater and I have a light saber on each side that fires up and I play the sound effect though the media PC when the movie experience starts. Then while it's running the sabers change color every 8 minutes but with out sound effects to keep them from going into there sleep mode. I also plan on including the platform lighting into the controls but that's for sometime next year.

I tried the Webserver quick but it was very angry and created a lot of red text on the log screen in Eventghost. Breaking stuff, it's what I do best . It just means I have to go and document the ports I'm using. It's been a very long time since I've had to mess with this setup so I have to relearn what exactly I did. I still haven't fully given up on JSON notifications. EventGhost sees the notifications from Kodi when it loads a new song to the play list and whats next so I know that connection is still good. I just need to figure out how to send that message.

Thanks again for the suggestions. Now I have an extra method to add to the list of stuff to try when the theater is not in use. I'll keep this updated as to my progress on getting the communications working.

Let me know how it goes, and if we can help in any way. It will be trial and error, but we'll do what we can.

[FatElvis 3]

Ok, so all is working for the I/O card. I ended up using the web server because it was just so quick and easy. The thing I did do was make sure that the command was sent to a port outside of a typical http request so I don't disrupt other traffic and my logs only have actual requests. I think I'm using something silly like 9090. Next on my list is the integration of my floor lighting.

Thanks again for your help!

[Ragnarok 198]

6 hours ago, FatElvis said:

Ok, so all is working for the I/O card. I ended up using the web server because it was just so quick and easy. The thing I did do was make sure that the command was sent to a port outside of a typical http request so I don't disrupt other traffic and my logs only have actual requests. I think I'm using something silly like 9090. Next on my list is the integration of my floor lighting.

Thanks again for your help!

You're very welcome!